In Ruins
by Lithophene
Summary: When everything seemed to be going to hell, fate decided to give Callum Foerstner one more chance at proving his worth. The galaxy needs heroes to put it back together. Shepard's his one chance. Eventual M!Shep/Ashley and M!OC/Joker. [Discontinued]
1. Patience

In Ruins

**01.** Patience

A/N: Rating is currently T, but may change to M in later chapters. _This story will feature a male-male romance in later chapters._ If you are unable to stomach classy romances of that kind, this story might not be to your liking. Before you close the tab if you didn't like the story/chapter/whatever, please drop me a PM or a review letting me know what I could do to improve.

Disclaimer: Mass Effect and its characters belong to BioWare. I only take claims for my OC, Callum.

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><p>A tiresome look plastered itself on the young man's face as he raised a hand to rub his temples in an effort to sooth the frustration he felt building up. Orange light bounced off his primp clothes as his omnitool flashed on. Darting over the interface, he pulled up his inbox and looked at the timestamp. He groaned slightly as he realized he had been waiting forty-one minutes since receiving the message.<p>

His eyes wandered away from the table he had been staring at since he took a seat beside it. From what he gathered through listening, he was in one of the Presidium's preferred lounge. He didn't much care for what its name may have been mostly due to the fact he doubted he would return here afterwards. It was too… still, too monotonous, too predictable. Politicians mingled about talking about how to manage their credits well or some ploy they had to go over.

He tapped his fingers along the surface of the table as he leaned back into his seat. He stared past the crowd of people to the outside scenery. There was nothing wrong with the Presidium, no, but it just seemed too perfect. The lake was a beautiful shade of blue with fountains lining several parts, each seemingly equidistant from another. Trees and foliage seemed to line all the buildings from what he could tell. Hell, even the sky seemed perfect, but what else could be expected from an artificial sky? Sure, it was pretty and all, but it was sending wrong signals to his body. He was tired and all this light was trying to tell him to wake up.

Bringing up his omnitool again, he found himself sighing as he found that a few minutes had already gone by and there was still no sign of this Captain Anderson. A tinge of doubt started to find its way into his thoughts. Did he go to the wrong lounge? No. Impossible. Pulling up the message, his eyes scanned over the contents:

_Foerstner,_

_There's been a change of plans. It seems I won't be able to meet up with you as soon as I had anticipated. Council business. Stay in the lounge by the human embassy. I'll find you there._

_- Anderson_

So he wasn't wrong. A wave of relief swept over him before being replaced by frustration. Where the hell was he? Was he supposed to wait an hour or more in some place he hardly knew? He liked to consider himself a patient person, but recent events had cut his fuse significantly shorter than it used to be. Sighing in frustration, he stood from his seat and maneuvered himself to the bar. If he was going to be here any longer, he might as well have a drink or two.

The bartender finished wiping off the countertop before turning to him, an eyebrow quirked up, "Huh. You must be new around here. This your first time on the Citadel?"

He rolled his shoulders slightly, "You could say that."

The bartender stopped to look at him more intently after hearing him speak, "Curious accent you've got there. Are you Russian per chance?"

A small smile tugged at his lips, "Close. My family stems from Russian descent, but I lived most of my life on one of the colonies on Mars."

"Ah," the man nodded curtly, "Anyways, can I get you something? News? Directions?"

"I could really go for a drink right now," the bartender reached for a glass before he could finish, "but none of those weak drinks these politicians have."

"This early?" the question was asked without expecting an answer as the bartender went straight to work, pulling out a glass and a couple of bottles and a mixer. Mixing a couple of oddly colored liquids, the bartender slid the glass towards him. Normally, he wouldn't have had a problem.

"It's… green?" he took up the glass, looking at the drink from different angles as if to try and figure out why or how it was green.

"You asked for the strong stuff, not what color it should be." The bartender chuckled slightly as he went back to his cleaning duties.

"True." Staring at the odd drink for a few more seconds, he ended up shrugging off the uneasiness and downed the glass in one chug. It took a while, but the strength of the alcohol hit him like a biotic kick. He shook his head slightly as he felt himself jolting back to a more energized state. It was better than just sitting and down nothing at least. For a while, he was content with just standing there, ordering another glass and drinking this one with pace and chatting with the bartender. His nerves were finally starting to unwind _and it felt good._

"Callum Foerstner?" A gruff voice spoke out from behind him, sending shivers down his spine from the suddenness of the interruption. Tentatively, he turned around with a neutral look on his face before his eyes landed on three armed figures. Two of them stood in the back, a rather tanned man on one side and an equally tanned woman on the other side. The one in front was… different. His hair was cropped short, but seemed long enough to run fingers through. Hazel eyes, fair skin, a few freckles here and there, and a scar running from his eyebrow to his lower ear. It could've been his appearance, but it seemed more… invisible than that. It was as though he was emanating something.

Callum's eyebrow quirked upwards toward the stranger, "Depends on who's asking. Are you Captain Anderson?"

The man smiled quirkily, "Not quite. I'm Commander Shepard and –"

Callum's hands shot up to cut off the man, "You're just messing with me, aren't you. It can't be… Are you really?"

His eyes must have widened significantly since the three armed soldiers in front of him had smiles, grins, and smirks lining their lips. The Commander simply nodded his head to answer his question. Jesus… The last thing he was expecting was to be serving with _the_ Commander Shepard. He was half expecting to find himself aboard a batarian slaver ship.

"Why so surprised, Foerstner?" The woman spoke up, her eyes looking only slightly devious.

He hesitated, stumbling over his words, "I, well, he," his voice broke into barely more than a whisper, "He was being serious."

_Rage. Rage coursed through his veins, forcing his face and ears to take a fearsome scarlet color. His eyes narrowed, his brows furrowed, and a surge of blue energy emanated from his entire body. His knuckles turned white from the pressure he kept his fists clenched in, the one thing keeping him from tossing his CO around the room like a fucking ragdoll. _

"_I am sick of this bullshit, _Captain._" His words hissed through gritted teeth as he stood in front of the calm man. The look on his face just continued to tempt him to punch the man with the strongest biotics he could possibly manage._

"_You're awfully worked up, Corporal."_

"_That's it? That's all you've got to say?" He took a step forward," I've been serving under you for three years now. Three years of asking to be assigned to a ship. I'm sick of your bigotry. You shouldn't even be in your position! You don't deserve it."_

_The man's eyes narrowed, emotion finally slipping through his cover, "You think you're ready, Corporal?"_

"_I've been ready since the day I enlisted, _Sir._"_

_The man's eyes widened in anger, "You're nothing but an inconsiderate maggot. You think you're good enough? You think you're the best? Fine. Let's see how long you last with the best."_

"_What?" The comments caught him off guard._

"_You heard me. You'll be shipping out tomorrow. Head to the armory and relinquish your armor and weapons. You're no longer my problem."_

The man standing to Shepard's right spoke up, "Sorry, who?"

Callum shook his head, snapping out of his flashback. He hated when he did that. Sometimes his memory got the better of him. Holding back a sigh, he spoke, "I'll explain later."

Shepard simply nodded, "Right," he straightened his posture and he laced his hands together behind his back, "Anderson sent me to find you and run a field test to see how well you work in a squad. Consider this an evaluation to see whether or not you'll join us. Just focus, listen to commands, cooperate and you'll be fine. Any thoughts, soldier?"

"Just one," Callum scratched at the light stubble on his jawline as he tried to process the information, "This _was not_ in his message, but I'll join you in this, Shepard."

Shepard visibly cringed at the use of his last name, "Just call me Damien. Shepard makes me feel older than I am."

Callum smiled faintly, "All right."

Damien gestured for him to get closer as they started to turn to leave, "Before I go into details, I figure it's best you know who you'll be working with. You've got Kaidan Alenko, our Lt. and resident biotic,"

"Hey." Kaidan nodded at him briefly.

"And then you've got Ashley Williams, our weapons expert."

Ashley piped up, "Damn straight." She slowed down a bit to nudge his side with her elbow.

Callum shook his head with a faint smile on his lips. He watched as the others interacted so smoothly with themselves. He'd hardly have guessed that they were some of the best the Alliance had to offer. The thought of actually integrating himself into their squad was… exciting. It gave him motivation. It made him want to fight. This was his chance to prove himself, and he wasn't going to let it slip by. This was going to be good.


	2. Trials

In Ruins

**02.** Trials

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><p>Breathe. That's all he needed to do. With his back pressed against the cold metal railing, Callum let the breath he hadn't realized he was trapping in out with a whistle. This was his opportunity, his once chance to prove he was a valuable asset. To his right was the crouched turian they had picked up a few minutes before. To his left, Damien was spraying suppressing fire at the two between bouts of peeking out of cover.<p>

"This isn't working, Shepard!" Garrus yelled out as he tried to line up his scope, "We need to draw them out of cover!"

Callum glanced behind him at the sound of booming footsteps.

Wrex lumbered past them, drawing his shotgun from his back. "I can handle that." The krogan took quick steps towards the other side of the platform with a deep laugh. The turian agents scrambled out of their position in an attempt to find another spot to bunker down at. They were too slow. Garrus's mandibles twitched slightly as he pulled the trigger of his sniper rifle. A sickly spray of blue blood covered the metallic wall as one of the turians fell limp.

His hands felt off as he grasped the pistol Ashley had lent him. It was unfamiliar. Its weight felt strange in his grip and its size was larger than the one he had grown so used to. Pushing the uneasiness aside, he stepped out of cover and spotted the remaining fleeting agent. A surge of blue energy emerged from his hand as he pointed it at his target. He just needed an opening. _'Wait for it. Wait for it… There!'_

Unclenching his hand, the ball of energy darted towards the turian, wrapping him in a mass effect field. Yanking it back, the turian floated toward him like a ragdoll, limp and unable to move. He ignored the look in the turian's eyes as he unloaded three shots into its head. If he allowed every look of fear or every plea for mercy to get to him, he wouldn't be the man he was now. A pat on his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Nice one, Foerstner." Damien turned to everyone, gesturing for everyone to rally around him. Once they were all gathered, he paced between them, "Those were Saren's agents. Chora's Den is probably full of even more of these mercs. I need two of you to guard this point and make sure no one gets in or out while we're in there."

Damien paused, bringing a hand to his chin as he seemed to consider his options. A chill went down his spine when Damien shifted his glance to him before starting up again, "Ashley, Wrex, I want you two to hold this position."

Ashley gave a firm nod and tightened her grip on her assault rifle, "Aye Aye, Sir."

Wrex, though, stepped dangerously close to Shepard. Callum felt himself instinctively preparing should the worst come to pass. "No can do, Shepard. My orders are to kill Fist." The krogan jabbed his finger in the air toward the entrance of the club, "I _will_ kill Fist."

Damien's eyes narrowed to the point even _he_ felt intimidated. The man seemed nice enough, but his being able to switch so quickly into such an authoritative demeanor made him question that. _'Note to self: Be careful.'_ Minutes seemed to pass as Damien simply stared at Wrex for a few seconds in silence. Eventually, he relented, "Fine. But don't kill him until I say you can."

The krogan stepped back with what seemed like a chuckle, "You've got some quads, Shepard."

Damien let the comment slide as he pointed at Kaidan, "Kaidan, hold the position with Ashley." Damien turned at Kaidan's nod and addressed the rest, "Wrex, you'll take point once we open to door. Foerstner, you and I will follow second. Garrus, try to find a position where you can put that sniper to use. Understood?"

Once everyone voiced their agreements, they moved towards the door. Callum leaned against one side of the door with Garrus to his right while Damien clung to wall with the switch. Damien looked between them all and stopped at Wrex, who was rolling his shoulders in… excitement? Whatever it was, the krogan looked ready and eager to raise hell.

"You ready, Wrex?"

The krogan grunted in response. Giving a brief nod, Damien punched the switch, "Give 'em hell!"

The door slid open and Wrex stepped through with his shotgun at a ready. Only a few seconds in, his shields became visible as shots began to ring out through the club. Callum swerved around the corner and took cover behind some upturned tables before lining up a shot with Fist's thugs. Shepard followed soon after with his assault rifle blazing before tossing a grenade toward a spot where two thugs were huddled together. The explosion resonated through the club and left the wall scorched black.

Callum grunted as he felt a number of bullets threatening to tear through his barriers. Almost immediately, he tried to force himself even closer to the ground. If his shields went down, he was as good as dead seeing as he was the only one without armor. Once he heard a break in fire, he stood out of cover and spotted the thug hiding on top of the bar.

"Not today!" He muttered beneath his breath as he wrapped the thug in a field and tossed him viciously into a nearby wall. There was a satisfying crunch of bones as the man collided against the metal. A smirk donned his lips as he scanned the area. He nodded at Damien when he heard him declare an all clear. The two of them rounded the bar to find Wrex pulling himself from the carcass of the krogan bouncer they had encountered before. The only difference between then and now was that it now had a gaping hole in its face from a shotgun blast at pointblank range. _'Excessive.'_

As they proceeded into the club, they found themselves facing some warehouse workers playing soldiers. If it had been up to Callum, he would have given them a shot to the foot each to warn them about doing such a dumb thing again in the future, but Damien… Damien was nicer than him in this. He managed to convince them to leave before they found themselves dead like all the other thugs. _'At least they have common sense.'_

One last door stood in their way to finding Fist. If the man had any sense to him, he'd probably put up one hell of a fight. The last thing Callum was expecting was to find himself being gunned down by turrets. His barriers were no match for the barrage of bullets that he found himself facing once they entered the room.

"Shit!" He cried out as a bullet smashed into his shoulder as he tried to duck into cover. He clutched at his shoulder in an attempt to keep it from bleeding any more. His black shirt began to gain a sickly red tinge as the blood wicked through it.

"Foerstner!" Damien called out once he heard him, "Stay out of this fight!"

"Sorry, Commander," Callum's eyes turned a ghastly white as biotic energy flowed from him in vicious waves, "But this prick just pissed me off!" He clenched his teeth painfully as he reveled in the surge of energy he felt coursing through him. His anger was fueling his biotic as he stepped out into the line of sights of the turrets. Using his good arm, he stretched his hand out and crushed one of the turrets into a ball of scrap metal and tossed it into the remaining turret. A spray of sparks littered the room as he started to step forward.

"Enough!" A strong hand latched onto his shoulder, drawing him out of his phase. An angry Damien was looking at him with narrowed eyes before telling him to step back. Callum said nothing as he stepped backwards until his back met with the wall. The adrenaline was starting to wear off and he found himself clutching his shoulder once again as he watched the display.

"Fist." Damien pointed his gun at the man that was sprawled out on the floor. The man started to get up onto his feet, drawing Garrus and Wrex to aim their weapons at him as well. Fist looked between all of them before sighing.

"Please don't kill me!" It was pathetic to watch the man drop to begging for mercy.

"Where's the quarian?" Damien's voice was icy cold as he eyed the man with disdain.

"What qua-" Damien cut Fist off by jamming his pistol beneath his chin.

"Don't play coy with me, _Fist_." Damien's voice dipped into a cold, volatile tone.

"All right, all right! She's not here. I don't know where she is. That's the truth."

"He's no use to you now. Let me kill him." Wrex interjected, cocking his shotgun to the side.

Fist's eyes widened at the krogan's threat, "Wait! I don't know where the quarian is, but I know where you can find her. The quarian isn't here. 'said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself.

"Impossible," Callum called out, "The Shadow Broker never meets with anyone face to face."

"Nobody meets the Shadow Broker. Even _I_ don't know his true identity, but she didn't know that. I told her I'd set a meeting up, but when she shows up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her.

"_Where?_" Damien's voice seemed laced with poison as he pushed his gun into Fist's skin.

"H-here on the wards. The back alley by the markets. She's supposed to meet them right now. You can make it if you hurry."

There was a long silence before Damien pulled his gun back and stepped away from Fist. The look on Fist's face was priceless. It was as if he expected to get out of the situation alive. Damien turned around, signaling a green light to Wrex by nodding at him. Just like that, Fist joined the countless other thugs they had taken out from the face of the Citadel.

Garrus's mandibles twitched as he looked over Fist's body, "I don't think C-Sec will be complaining about Fist being taken off the radar."

Damien shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair, "Maybe. Maybe not. I just hope they don't ride your ass for being here." Damien brought a hand up to his ear, turning on his radio, "Kaidan, Ashley, we've got what we came for. The quarian is about to get ambushed in the alley right by the markets. You two are the closest. Head there now and interrupt the meeting. Keep the quarian alive!"

Callum could hear the faint response coming from Shepard's comms, -_Aye aye, sir!- _

Damien turned to Garrus and Wrex, "You two, go and join the others. Watch your back."

Garrus nodded as he took off while Wrex left without a word. There was an awkward silence as Callum watched Damien stare at the door for a few seconds, as if he was waiting for the others to be out of earshot. Suddenly, his gaze turned towards him with a visage almost like the one he was giving Fist. His eyes eased up slightly after another few seconds in silence, "You're good, Foerstner, but you're reckless. If you're going to be on my team, you need to drop the bravado _now_. I won't be losing anyone to that again. Understand?"

Callum watched the other man with curiosity, his interest piqued when Damien used the word 'anymore', but he fought the urge to ask. Instead, he just nodded, "Understood, Commander."

Damien seemed satisfied, "Good. Now let's get you patched up before we meet up with the others."

After applying a healthy dosage of medigel, the two of them raced towards the alley only to find a gun fight tearing up the area. The others were crouched down behind some crates spraying suppressive fire. Damien took cover besides Garrus, "I need a sitrep, now!"

Garrus peered to his side to acknowledge Damien, "The quarians down below. We've taken out two of the assassins. There's one left, but he's sabotaged my guns."

Damien nodded silently before a devious grin stretched across his face, "Just one? There's nothing that can't be handled with a grenade." Damien swapped places with Garrus and peeked around the corner of the crate. After a few seconds of watching, his posture tensed before he lobbed a grenade towards where he spotted the last assassin. A satisfying explosion left a silence that told them he had a direct hit. The six of them stepped out of cover and went to find the quarian.

Callum was the first to speak up once they were down at the scene, "It's safe now. No more assassins."

Truth be told, he was curious. All that he knew about quarians was what they taught in school, and his… time in school wasn't the longest. Something about how they created an artificial intelligence that ended up rebelling against them. Besides that, he knew little to nothing about them. A few seconds after he spoke, the quarian warily stepped out from her hiding spot.

"Fist set me up. I knew I couldn't trust him." The quarian spoke, her foreign voice sounding almost synthesized through her suit.

"And yet you did." Wrex grunted in disapproval from his position.

Damien shot Wrex a look before turning back to the quarian, "Don't worry. We took care of him. He got what was coming to him. He got what was coming to him sooner or later."

The quarian dropped her defensive posture and adopted a more quizzical one, "Then I guess I have two things I need to thank you for. Just… Who are you?"

"My name's Damien Shepard. I'm looking for evidence to prove Saren's a traitor."

The quarian seemed to perk up at what Damien said, "Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life but not here. We need to find somewhere safe first."

Ashley chimed in, "The ambassador's office, it's safe there. He'll want to see this anyway."

Damien smiled in the dim red light, "There we go. Stick with us and you'll be safe."

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><p>Things seemed to go by at the speed of light. One minute they were in the ambassador's office presenting the evidence that the quarian had on Saren. He had learned that the quarian was named Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, or Tali as she had said, and that she found the information while on her pilgrimage. Next thing he knew, the whole lot of them found themselves on their way to the Citadel tower to present the new evidence to the Council.<p>

A short sigh escaped from Callum as he stepped out from the elevator behind everyone. From what he had heard, the last time Damien and the others came by here, things didn't go so well. Something about how they seemed to completely ignore all of his claims and chose to believe their treacherous spectre instead. It was some ignorant bullshit like that.

Tali seemed to notice his discomfort, "What's wrong?"

Callum peered over to her, looking at where he assumed her eyes to be, "Nothing. Just worried whether the Council will actually act this time rather than turn us away."

The quarian looked pensive after his comment. She was probably trying to process all the new information she had received in the last hour alone. The rest of the walk was a silent one that was interrupted only by the chatter of politicians lounging about and the sound of water crashing down from the fountains. In general, the area was beautiful, but he couldn't admire it with the anticipation of the following moments burning in his bones.

After climbing up the final steps, he finally caught a glimpse of the Council themselves. Something about them just radiated 'I'm full of myself'. Or maybe it was just him and he was wrong. Ambassador Udina led them onto an extended platform a level below the Council members. Udina did most of the speaking with Damien cutting in every now and then. Then, as he was half-expecting, the Council refused to act upon the new evidence. They would let dozens of human colonies be wiped out by Saren and his geth instead of act. Callum could feel his anger rising to new peaks once again, but then, out of the blue, the asari councilor spoke up with the mention of an alternative that would aid both sides.

Damien seemed surprised when they asked him to step forward. Shit. It really was something to watch Damien be inducted into the Spectres. It meant something greater for humanity, but it also showed that he had what it took to get the job done. When he turned around, his had a cheesy grin lining his lips before Udina went and soured the mood by not even giving him his thanks and went on to say Shepard wasn't done yet. Then he just up and left.

Once Udina and Anderson were out of earshot, Callum turned to Damien with a repulsed look on his face, "If I may speak freely, Udina's one son of a bitch."

Damien sighed and clasped his hands behind his neck, "Yep."

Garrus seemed just as baffled as Tali, "You'd think he'd have shown _some_ gratitude at least."

"You'd think that, but I've come to not expect that from Udina." Damien started walking away from the stand, "Now, I think it's time we get things settled down before we figure out what to do,


	3. Settling In

In Ruins

**03.** Settling In

A/N: I'd just like to take this brief moment to say thanks to Zero612 for reviewing. To those of you still reading, thanks for taking the time to do so!

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><p>"Captain," Callum felt as though his breath had abandoned his body completely, leaving him feeling cold and suddenly uncertain of what to do. The events of the last few days had been in preparation to see if he would be able to join Anderson's crew and now… Now Anderson was being forced to surrender his control of the Normandy and her crew. A small surge of panic was beginning to build in the back of his mind, but he did his best to try and mask it, "What am I to do then? I was meant to join <em>your<em> crew.

Anderson rubbed his eyes, "That's true, but the Normandy and her crew are now Shepard's. He's a spectre now. It's his choice whether or not he wants you to join him now."

Damien nodded his head with heavy eyes, "If that's the case, consider yourself part of the crew, Callum."

A tinge of hope and pride began to swell up in his chest that managed to draw a faint smile to his lips, but when he caught a glimpse of Damien, he felt it fade away. The other man seemed… distraught, shaken maybe. He wasn't the best when it came to gathering what someone was thinking, but he had to guess that Damien wasn't taking Anderson's departure well. It made him wonder how well his new CO's relationship was with the former captain of the Normandy.

There was a short silence before Damien spoke up again, "Are you sure about this, Anderson?"

"My time is done, Shepard. It's time for someone new to take charge, and this time it's you. You're ready for this." Anderson smiled with a hint of pride as he walked over to Damien and gave him two good pats on the shoulder.

"I'll do the best I can, sir." Damien gave a quick salute.

"I know you will."

Callum found himself leaning on one leg with his arms folded across his chest as he watched the departure go on. It was a strange sight to watch. Never had he had the experience of serving under someone who earned his respect in the manner Damien seemed to have with Anderson. Part of him was envious of him for actually being able to have that sort of bond with a commanding officer. Another part of him felt pity for the man.

Anderson strode over to Ashley where he received a quick salute. Before he could speak, she interrupted him, "Captain, it's been an honor serving with you"

"Williams, you're a fine soldier. Do me a favor and keep Shepard's ass safe." Anderson shifted towards Kaidan, "Kaidan, I trust you'll keep things in line like before."

"You've got it, sir."

"Good," Anderson turned to face humans and aliens alike, "This mission is your main priority. Stop Saren and keep him from finding the Conduit. The fate of the galaxy could very well rest on your hands. Shepard, if you ever need to speak with me, I'll be here."

The gentle hum of the nearby ship drowned out his ears as the silence that loomed amongst them was almost overbearing. His introduction to Anderson was his farewell. But now, now he had a goal. He was to fight alongside Damien, Hero of Akuze, to bring down Saren and _it felt good_. For the first time in almost a decade, he felt as though he had a purpose. It made him want to fight and the feeling was exhilarating.

"Shepard… Are you all right?" Tali chirped from her suit.

Damien shook his head as he withdrew himself from his thoughts, "Yeah. Sorry. My head's somewhere else right now."

"What?" Garrus tilted his head questioningly.

"Right," Damien seemed to mentally punch himself, "It's a human expression. I'm just a bit distracted right now, but I think I should be giving you guys a tour of the Normandy."

"Try not to hurt yourself in the process, Commander. I have orders to watch your ass." Ashley's lips quirked in a manner that Callum didn't understand. It seemed friendly, but… more than that. It was a reminder to him that he was a bit inexperienced in dealing with others.

Damien, though, seemed to smirk at her comment but said little of it. If anything, it was Kaidan who spoke up with a smile and a shake of his head, "Ashley…"

"What?" Ashley's lips widened into a smile, "I'm just stating my orders. Nothing wrong with that."

Ashley broke out into a laugh as the group followed behind Damien into the airlock of the Normandy. It was only then that he realized what a large group they were, particularly when he found Garrus's elbow... thing poking at his side. The airlock didn't seem to have been made to hold such numbers, or at least the amount they had with a krogan in the mix. It was a terrifying thought to wonder how krogan mating went.

After what felt like an eternity, the ships VI seemed satisfied with its 'decontamination' and allowed the airlock to open swiftly. After about three steps in, a voice called out to them.

"Commander, I was expecting a souvenir or something, but this? Wow. I don't know what to say. I'm grateful."

Damien shook his head with a laugh at the man in the corridor, "That excited, Joker?"

"Definitely. So, uh… What's the deal, Commander?" The scruffy, green-eyed man named Joker raised his eyebrow at the extra bodies behind Damien.

Callum tried his best to maintain his face neutral while he observed the other man. The first thing he noticed was the fact Joker was using leg braces _and_ crutches to keep himself standing. It was curious, especially if the Normandy was an Alliance warship. It made him wonder what the man's position was on the ship. Hell, it made him wonder if he was really capable, but he managed to remember that this was Damien's crew he was talking about. If he was here, he had to be one hell of an ace at something.

"Picked up some 'recruits' for our mission, you could say. I need to give them a tour of the Normandy and help them settle in. I'll explain the rest later."

"That's always fun. Well, I got up to take a piss so... I'll be getting to that now."

Callum watched the man limp down the corridor before Damien spoke up, "In case any of you were wondering, that was our helmsman, Joker."

Callum made sure to take note of the name so he wouldn't have any awkward moments should he run into him any time soon. If anything, his humor had made him a candidate of interest.

"What a strange human…" Tali thought a lot, shifting her weight to one leg.

Kaidan spoke out from behind her, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

Callum couldn't hold back a whistle as he walked down the corridor of the Normandy. The technology that surrounded him at all angles was enough to impress him. If he were to guess by the way Tali was looking at everything as well, she probably was as intrigued as him. Never had he the honor to actually step aboard such an advanced vessel. He was barely able to listen to Shepard's words as he watched the number of crews discussing readings and outputs by some terminals. From what little he did manage to catch, he was at the CIC. _'This seems to be the busiest place.'_

The rest of the tour passed by quickly as he tried to log the locations into his memory. The top deck seemed to be the largest as it went lower down to where the mess hall and sick bay could be found. Apparently Damien's quarters were also there. The deck beneath contained the crew quarters and showers. Beneath that were the engine room, the armory and storage. Almost instantly, the group dispersed with everyone heading to different areas.

Ashley nodded at him before heading over to some lockers and packing away her weapons. Garrus seemed enthralled by the presence of the Mako and went to do… something with the vehicle. Techs were never his forte. Tali followed some engineers to where the eezo core was located. Wrex was… Callum wasn't sure what Wrex planned on doing, but the krogan found his spot on a wall and scowled at most passing by. Eventually, Damien's voice drew his attention,

"Settle yourself in, Callum. I'll see about fitting you and the others into the sleeper pod schedule."

Callum sliced his hand through the air, "No can do. I don't deal well with pods."

"The crew quarters are already full. Where do you expect to sleep?" Damien seemed annoyed by his rebuttal.

Callum peered around the deck and spotted a dimly lit corner, "There," he pointed to the spot, "I can set up a cot, with your permission."

Damien seemed to mull the idea over for a few seconds, "All right. Speak with our requisitions officer, Kevin, to set up."

"Understood, Commander."

"If all's taken care of, I need to address the crew. See you around." Damien nodded to him before stepping into the elevator with Kaidan.

Callum stared at the closed doors for a few seconds with his hands dipped into his pockets before shifting his gaze to various parts. It was surprising to him how everyone else seemed to have fallen into synch to easily. What exactly was he to do? He knew little more about techs asides from what was taught during training. He found himself poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue as he realized he would have little to distract himself with during travels. _'No one ever said life in space was easy.'_

Fighting back a sigh, he turned to where Damien had pointed before turning to leave. Sitting beside a table littered with datapads was a man dressed in your standard alliance uniform buried into yet another datapad. Truth be told, there was little to actually identify him as the requisitions officer other than through referrals. It made him raise an eyebrow at how irresponsible it seemed. Pushing the thoughts aside, he strolled over to the table.

The man peered up from his datapad, "Can I help you?"

Callum wasn't sure if he detected annoyance or if the man was just being casual, "Commander Shepard told me to speak to you about getting a bed."

"A bed?" 'Kevin' put the datapad down.

"Yes."

"They're not as comfortable as the real things, but I think there's one or two in storage." 'Kevin' stood up and gestured for him to follow. A few steps in and the intercoms came to life, bringing the two of them to a halt. Glancing around, he noticed that everyone stopped what they were doing to listen.

_-This is Commander Shepard speaking. We have our orders, find Saren before he finds the Conduit. I won't lie to you, crew. This mission isn't going to be easy. For too long our species has stood apart from the others. Now it's time for us to step up and do our part for the rest of the galaxy! It's time for us to show them what humans are made of! Our enemy knows we're coming. When we go into the Traverse, Saren's followers will be waiting for us. But we'll be ready for them, too. Humanity needs to do this, _we_ need to do this. Not just for our own sake but for the sake of every other species in Citadel Space. Saren must be stopped, and I promise you all, we will stop him! We're all in this together, each and every one of us. Make me proud, make yourselves proud. Shepard out.-_

Callum laughed with a wide grin, "I knew I made the right choice. It's nice to feel reassured."

* * *

><p>"You never did say who 'he' was, Callum,"<p>

Callum found himself stopping midbite and staring at Kaidan and his question. It seemed it was too much to hope that Kaidan and Ashley had forgotten about his little slip up. He suddenly felt incredibly self-conscious as most of the eyes at the mess hall turned to him. A guttural groan came from him as he finished chewing his meal and setting down his fork. Wiping his mouth with his forearm, he glanced at all the curious eyes. At least Damien wasn't there.

"So, you all want to hear a story? I'm telling you now; it's not all that interesting."

"Psh," Ashley punched his shoulder, "It didn't seem like that when you tried avoiding it before."

Kaidan spoke up as if on cue, "Not to mention you said you'd tell us later, anyway."

Callum sighed with resignation. It looked as though he wouldn't be able to worm out of this one. His eyes adopted a weary look as he began to speak, "Well, I joined the Alliance when I was just a bit past nineteen. I don't like to admit it, but I mainly did it just to get away. I wanted to leave everything behind. The galaxy had so much more to offer. It was my opportunity to adopt a new life and escape from my past."

"What past?" Tali spoke up, leaning closer to the conversation.

The question caught him off-guard.

"_Just kill 'er, Cal. You know how these things go. They get cornered like rats and then they try to weasel their way out. Pathetic. Just end her now and let's get on with things."_

"_P-please! I have a son!"_

"_Bah. She's just making it up. They always do. Kill 'er."_

"_Please!"_

"_Kill her now!"_

"_No!_

"_Now!"_

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and brought a hand up to the back of his neck. He felt himself growing distant, "I… That's not a conversation I'm willing to have."

"Oh." Tali seemed a bit confused but decided not to push the matter.

Callum hadn't noticed Garrus at the table until he spoke up, "What happened after you joined the Alliance?"

He was grateful that the turian helped him bring himself back to speed, "Right. Well, turns out that being a biotic in the Alliance isn't one of the most comfortable positions out there. I'm not sure if you ever ran into trouble, Kaidan."

Kaidan nodded in acknowledgement, "It isn't easy."

"Why? What does the Alliance have against biotics?" Tali chimed up.

Callum jabbed his fork into some artificial corn, "It isn't the Alliance. Not really. It's the… older soldiers you have to worry about."

Ashley chuckled, "You mean the old guys who seem to be stuck in the past, right?"

"Yes. I had the misfortune to land myself under the 'leadership' of a prejudiced bastard. He had it out for me since the moment he found out I was a biotic. He often berated me in front of others, turned others against me, and just made my life a living hell in general. I felt as though every day I was with him I was getting further and further away from my goal of getting away from the city. I signed up to go spaceside, but he tried his hardest to keep me groundside."

"No wonder you have trouble taking orders," Damien spoke up with a laugh from his position against the metal post, drawing most eyes to him.

'_Great.'_ Callum felt the blood rushing to his ears as he tried to ignore the comment, "So… as you could imagine, putting up with that kind of treatment for two years can grow overbearing. I got fed up and literally starting breaking doors to get to his office and I demanded he do something. I guess he was tired of having me under his command seeing as he didn't hesitate to toss me off to someone else. Though, I do think he was hoping I would die."

Damien pushed himself away from the post and stepped over to where he sat. To his surprise, Damien put his hand on his shoulder rather than reprimanding him, "Not with us, you won't. We watch each other's backs here.

Callum shook his head with a smile, "I sure hope so."

Damien pulled his hand back and cross his hands behind his back as he shifted his attention to everyone, "Tomorrow we'll be in the Artemis Tau cluster. Our mission is to find Dr. T'Soni and determine whether or not she's working with Saren. If she isn't, then she may prove to be a valuable asset to the team. If she is, well… Let's hope not. Get some rest tonight. I need you all ready and able. Who knows what we'll find."


	4. Heat Wave

In Ruins

**04.** Heat Wave

A/N: The intro in chapter one has been updated. It may or may not be a deal breaker for some so take a gander if and when you can.  
><strong>Edit:<strong> WOW! Sorry guys! I just had a major upload flub! I'm sorry if anyone gets bombarded with notifications... I deleted the wrong chapter after I uploaded this chapter without including the scene breaks by accident and... it wasn't pretty. I also just realized that all the scene breaks in my chapters were removed without my noticing. I have a lot of fixing to do.

* * *

><p>"Callum!"<p>

Groggy eyes opened with heavy lids to stare at metal frameworks. _Another dreamless night._ Callum tossed a hand lazily over his eyes, rubbing them gently in a weak attempt to rub the tiredness away. Pulling his hand back, he peered over to the source of the voice: Ashley. She was dressed in the regular alliance uniform, but her hair was damp and untied and able to run loosely over her shoulders. His eyes widened slightly in both irritation and admiration. Groaning audibly, he sat up and tossed his legs over the side of the crummy bed.

"About time! I've been calling your name for a while now. You're one hell of a sleeper, Cal." A smirk lined her lips as she tugged at the towel wrapped around her neck. Callum hadn't failed to notice what she called him.

Callum groaned once more as he rubbed a kink in his shoulder, "Remind me again why you're waking me up?"

"Damn, you're not a morning person, are you?" Someone was spot on. "The commander sent a message out a few minutes ago. We're just over an hour away from our destination. I figured you'd at least like a shower and breakfast before heading out."

Callum muttered under his breath. _At least it's a good enough reason._ He yawned lightly before speaking, "Thanks." His response was curt and to the point.

"No problem. Us new guys have to help each other out, right?" She smirked lightly as he got up from his corner. It was then that he noticed just how beautiful the gunnery chief was, particularly when she was not yet battle-ready. Her skin urged him to wonder how soft it would be to touch or the plumpness of her lips, naturally rosy and attention-drawing. He mentally shook his head as he pushed the thoughts aside, accounting them to his morning demeanor. Just then, Ashley gave him a nod and turned to leave.

"Ash," he called out, drawing her to stop and peer over her shoulder, "You should let your hair down more often." A gentle smile lined his lips before he set off to his showers. Had he turned to look behind his shoulders, he would've spotted a defenseless Ashley watching his every step.

His mind tried to run over what he should do. It seemed simple enough. Shower, eat breakfast, suit up, and then meet with Shepard and the others in the conference room for a debriefing. If only the first part was as easy as it seemed. He found himself leaning against the metallic wall of the corridor as he stared at the door to the men's showers. The scar over his heart began to heat up as he felt a fear swelling up inside of him. He didn't want anyone to see it; no one had to and no one should. It was his weakness and it was bound to bring up questions he did not want to answer. Eventually, he just swallowed his fear in resignation, assuring himself that no one was bound to notice in a five minute shower. _Just… get in, get out, and get on with your business._

* * *

><p>"Good to see everyone's here." Damien called out from his seat, leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees. His eyes betrayed the slight bags cradled beneath his eyes. It made Callum curious… he'd have to ask later.<p>

"Onto business then," Damien's omnitool flashed to life as he pressed a few buttons and the conference's room came to life. All eyes turned to view the image of what seemed to be mining equipment on a red-tinged planet. The first thought that crossed Callum's mind was the fact it looked like it was scorching hot. "Joker informed me that he picked up some strange signals coming from Therum. From what we've managed to gather, it may be geth transmissions or gibberish. Regardless, it's as good a sign as any for where to start our search."

"How exactly do you expect us to find this asari, Shepard?" Wrex grunted out his question.

Damien turned to Wrex, "Glad you asked. We've found reports indicating that a group of miners discovered some prothean ruins while excavating."

"And we're looking for an asari with a thing for protheans…" Callum voiced out his thoughts as he shifted in his seat.

A small chuckle came from the others before Damien spoke up again, "Something like that, yes. Our main objective is to secure T'soni. When we're down there, we need to watch out fire. These mines belong to a colony and I don't think they'd appreciate us destroying their equipment. The rest we can figure out as we go."

"Shepard," Tali chimed up with enthusiasm in her voice, "If it's the geth we're dealing with, I'd like to join you. My knowledge of them may come in handy should we run into them."

Damien seemed to consider the option. It was likely he had a different squad formation planned out in his head, but he seemed flexible enough to adjust. After a few minutes of silence and staring at the floor panels, his gaze returned to the anxious quarian, "All right, Tali. You can come with."

If he had to guess, Tali was beaming beneath her helmet, "I won't let you down!"

Callum noticed a short look of discontent coming from Ashley when Damien announced Tali was filling up one of the two squad positions. _Strange._ He found himself yanked out of his thoughts as Damien's gaze turned sharply to him,

"Callum, you're also with me. You both have ten minutes to do what you need to before meeting up in the engineering deck. We're taking the Mako for this one."

* * *

><p>"Keelah!"<p>

Tali's yell resonated within the cramped confines of the Mako. Callum found himself holding similar thoughts to Tali as his body was rocked by the sharp turns and jumps performed by the vehicle. The mental image of him and a quarian bouncing around in the back of the Mako managed to squeeze itself into his head. Within seconds, he found himself breaking out into a fit of laughter that drew Tali's attention.

"Why are you laughing?" Tali's voice sounded as though she was confused to a whole new level at his strange behavior.

Trying to catch his breath, he rested his head (for what little he could without it bouncing off) against the head rest. His mind had decided to drift back to his younger days and on the outskirts of a colony where most people didn't care what a kid did out in the open spaces. "No offense, Commander, but I don't think that I've been a vehicle this badly driven since I took my dad's car out for a joyride at fourteen!"

Damien took his eyes off the road and looked back at him, a stern look on his face, "Are you criticizing my driving, corporal?"

Callum felt himself stiffen at the rigidity of Damien's question and found himself coughing his laugh away. Damien seemed to notice the tension building in him because a sly grin lined his lips seconds later, "Gotcha."

He felt the blood rushing to his face and ears again as his mouth parted slightly. Mere moments before he felt as though he had made one of the biggest mistakes ever and now he found out his commander was just yanking him around, "Not cool, Commander."

"You set yourself up for –" Damien began to speak with victory laced in his voice before Tali cut him off.

"Shepard! Eyes ahead!"

The two of them turned their attention straight ahead to where several screens were blaring with various warnings and alerts. Off in the near distance, a geth ship had appeared out of nowhere and dropped several geth troops and a strange tank-like construction. Damien took a firm grasp of the wheel before shouting out orders, "Tali, monitor our readings and try to keep our shields strong. Callum, man the turret! Now!"

Just as he was setting himself up, the Mako shook violently as a surge of blue energy collided into its frame. All the sensors flared up for a moment before returning to normal. Sensing the urgency of the situation, he sped up his process and finally started lining up shots with the smaller troops. A wicked smile grew on his face as he watched the geth collapse after being barraged by bullets, "Down you go!"

"Tali," Damien called out as he tried to keep the Mako steady and away from any pockets of lava, "What the hell is that _thing_?"

Tali's eyes never shifted from the screens as she tried to reroute noncritical systems to boost the shield's performance, "It's a geth armature. I can go into details later but right now you need to make sure we don't get hit by it again!"

"Why?"

"It nearly decimated our shields! One more hit and we'll suffer structural damage! Callum, once you get its shields down, use the rockets!"

Callum glanced back at her before returning his attention to the geth, "Understood!"

* * *

><p>"You couldn't have chosen a hotter planet, Commander?" Sarcasm seeped into his voice as he passed a gloved hand over his forehead. He felt as though every single pore in his body had decided to ooze sweat the second he stepped out of the Mako. The scenery wasn't even great either. It just made him want to get off the boiling rock known as Therum even sooner. His eyes were steady as he scouted around with his pistol at a ready.<p>

"Don't your suits have temperature regulation?" Tali seemed to ask the question innocently, but she found herself being stared at by two sweating men.

Almost simultaneously, Callum and Damien spoke out, "No."

"Oh…" Tali's voice seemed laced with embarrassment at the brusqueness of their response. It brought a smile to Callum's lips as he followed behind Damien and kept an eye on their flank. Their previous quarrels with the geth had been easy enough to take down, but the area just seemed way too empty at the moment. Something in his bones kept yelling at him that something was off… He could feel it.

"I think I see the mine over by those crates. Keep close," Damien spoke softly as his fingers kept adjusting themselves on the grip of his rifle.

They had taken only a few steps near the crates before the sound of an approaching geth ship blasted their ears. A loud thud rang out ahead of them as an armature plummeted into the field. _Shit!_ Damien yelled out orders as soon as the armature started to open, "Get to cover!"

Instinctively he lunged forward into a roll and positioned himself alongside one of the crates. Taking a glance, he spotted Tali and Damien behind a different crate. A tinge of anxiety crept through his nerves as he felt vulnerable on his lonesome. In preparation, he strengthened his barriers just in time to watch Tali pierce the torso of an incoming geth trooper with a spray from her shotgun. His eyes widened at her accuracy for a moment before peeking out of cover and firing a series of bullets at the head of another geth trooper.

"It's charging an attack!" Tali shouted in an attempt to urge the others back into cover. Taking heed of her warning, he drew himself back into cover before he watched the blast of energy fly past where he was before.

"We've got quick enemies on the railing! I can't line up a shot! Tali, overload their systems!"

"On it!" Tali pressed a series of numbers on her omnitool before launching her attack on one of the geth leaping around. He and Damien took the opportunity to tear the frozen geth into pieces before another one tore through his barriers.

"Shit! Watch yourselves! It can sap your shield!" At his warning, Damien lured the geth into a corner with a controlled fire, leaving Tali open to fire the killing shot.

Callum peeked out of cover to observe the armature. It was slow and its shields were strong. If they were able to get its shields down, he could easily crush it with his biotics. "Take its shields down! I can handle the rest!"

Once the tank-like machine fired, the trio began to rain a hail of bullets at it until its shields flickered away. Stepping out of cover, dark energy began to pour out of him as blue light while he stretched his hand out and lifted the heavy armature. He could feel the strain pouring from his head to every muscle of his body at the immense weight of the synthetic. He grunted as he lifted his spare hand parallel to the other one. Pushing his hands closer to each other with no ease, the armature began to crumble beneath its own weight until it was little more than a ball of scrap metal and electronics.

"Keelah… I had no idea a human biotic was capable of that."

Damien seemed just as surprised as Tali and cast a suspicious glance toward him, "Neither did I…"

Callum found himself catching his breath as he walked over to the others with a weak smile. It wasn't often when he used his biotics to such a magnitude, but he felt the need and he found himself empowered to do it. The look on Damien's face changed momentarily as he patted him on the shoulder with a 'nice job', but he went on ahead. Tali gestured for him to follow as they approached the entrance to the mine.

The venture into the mine was a slow, cautious one. Neither of them had a clue what to expect down in the tunnels. It was possible that there would be more geth, or maybe a psychotic asari waiting for them to arrive to kill them. Callum wasn't really sure which of the two he found to be more favorable. Shooting down the sparse geth patrols was easy enough. Otherwise, everything seemed to be going well until the elevator they were in began to release sparks in a frenzy. The elevator dropped suddenly, toppling him into the other two as they all collapsed in a heap once the elevator came to a loud halt.

"Ow…" Callum couldn't think of anything else to say as he lifted himself up from the crash and helped Tali up. A muffled feminine voice drew their attention.

"Uh… Hello? Can somebody help me? Please?"

Damien stepped over to the edge of the platform and peered down, "It's just a short drop to the platform below, but be careful. It looks as though a bomb hit these."

With that said Damien hopped down carefully and gestured for the others to follow suit. Once they were all down, they walked towards the source of the disturbance only to find an asari trapped in what seemed like a containment field behind a kinetic barrier.

The asari seemed panicked, "Can you hear me out there? I am trapped. I need help!"

Damien stepped forward, "Are you okay? What happened to you?"

The asari took a breath, "Listen. This thing I am in is a prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it. All right?"

Callum took a moment to tap the barrier with his knuckle. It didn't even budge. "How exactly are we supposed to get past this?"

"It's a prothean barrier curtain. I knew it would keep me safe from the geth." The asari's eyes wandered away, "When I turned it on, I must've hit something I wasn't supposed to. I was trapped in here. You must get me out. Please!"

Tali seemed skeptical, "Wait. You're hiding from the geth? Wasn't Benezia working with Saren and the geth?"

The asari's eyes widened, "What? I have not spoken to my mother in years. Please, just get me out! There is a control in here that should deactivate this thing. You must find a way past the barrier curtain. That's the tricky part. The defenses cannot be shut off from the outside. I don't know how you'll get in here."

Damien raised his hand up to placate the asari, "Don't worry, Dr. T'soni, we'll find a way to get you out."

"Be careful. There is a krogan with the geth. They have been trying different ways to get past the barrier."

* * *

><p>Sweat dripped down his hairline, leaving lines of dirt running down his face. Pain resonated from him head where an open gash had begun to scab over from the impact of a falling boulder. Turns out that running out of a collapsing mine wasn't as easy as it seemed, particularly when rocks threatened to crush you to death around every corner. Callum bit back a grunt as he stepped out of the sickbay. Doctor Chakwas sealed the wound on his forehead with a quick application of medi-gel and spared some to relax the strained muscles of his ankle. It wasn't surprising to him that she was quick to get him going seeing that she wouldn't let anyone from the ground team go without a thorough inspection of their condition.<p>

The pain began to numb away, but he still found himself with a slight limp as he made his way up his stairs to the command deck. Most normal people would've decided on cleaning themselves up after that mess, but he didn't feel like standing at the moment. There was a craving in the pit of his stomach to just sit and chat with someone… someone who wasn't going to pester him about how the mission went. The first name that crossed his mind was Joker's.

He could feel the eyes of the crew watching his every step down the corridors. It didn't bother him. If anything, it made him want to laugh at the sight they probably saw: a strange man with disheveled hair covered in dirt, blood, and sweat walking toward the cockpit. It wasn't the most… attractive image, but it did seem chuckle-worthy.

The co-pilots chair creaked/ loudly at his sudden drop into its cushions. A sly smile tugged at his lips as he watched the pilot's surprised reaction. Joker seemed to change attitudes quickly and gave him a quick glance to his appearance before pointing to various spots on his face with a finger, "Uh, you've got a little something here. And here. And over here."

Callum sorted lightly as he leaned his head against the headrest. It wasn't all that comfortable, but it did the job. Without opening his eyes, he spoke, "I'm more than aware."

"Right…" Joker turned his attention back to the screens. There was silence for a few seconds before he glanced at Callum, only to find him with his eyes still closed, "So, uh, not to be an ass or anything, but is there any reason why you're up here instead of with the others?"

Callum rolled his head to face Joker and opened his eyes lazily, "Not really. Figured I might as well go chat up the man who pulled our asses out of harm's way." He repositioned his head again and let his eyelids shut, "Nice going, by the way."

Joker glanced at the other man with a grin, "Damn straight. Ten more seconds and we would have been swimming in molten sulphur. The _Normandy_ isn't equipped to land on exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull."

A smile crept onto his lips, "It was a nice save. I don't think any other pilot could've done it."

Joker's grin faded away as he shifted in his seat and squared his cap into place, "That's just pity for the cripple."

Callum's lifted his head away from the headrest and opened his eyes to witness the solemn look that found itself on Joker's face, "Pity? No." His comment drew Joker's gaze, "Joker, if you're on this ship, you're the best of best. I don't care if you need crutched to walk. I don't. I don't need to pity you, and I doubt you want it too. Respect, though? That I can do." Callum let his head fall back once more.

There was a silence between the two for almost a solid minute before Joker spoke up, "Callum, right?"

"Yep."


	5. Empty Spaces

In Ruins

**05.** Empty Spaces

A/N: Again, I'd like to give thanks to Zero612 for dropping a review. For anyone else reading, it'd be nice to have a review dropped by. I don't know what to work on or what to keep doing if you don't.

* * *

><p>Callum toyed around with the scraps of food left in his tray pensively. His thoughts were occupied with the events of the previous mission. Everything had gone well, casualties were kept to a minimum, and Liara T'soni had been rescued successfully. He had performed to the best of his abilities and he felt that he had done a good job at interacting with the others and yet… here he was, poking at his food in the empty mess hall. A small sigh escaped from his lips as he shut his eyes in frustration. <em>How the hell does Shepard do it? It seems so easy for him…<em>

Commander Damien Shepard, first human spectre, Hero of Akuze. His name brought was full of military recognition and Callum had been firsthand to witness the brutality that he could adopt when facing enemies, but he was also witness to the ease in which he could address each and every member of his team, regardless of their species. _Fuck, Damien…_

Too caught up in his mental ramblings, Callum failed to notice Liara taking a seat opposite of him. The asari looked over at him attentively before clearing her throat gently, startling Callum's eyes open, "Hello, Callum."

Callum shifted slightly after acknowledging her presence with a nod, "Liara. Is there anything you need help with?"

Liara looked over Callum like a scientist would look over a specimen and it made him feel antsy. He felt his nerves tensing under her eyes, regardless of the small smile she gave, "No, I am all right. Pressly has been kind enough to introduce me with the ship and its facilities, and Dr. Chakwas has been generous enough to allow me to settle in her lab."

"I somehow doubt that's why you're here," Callum answered dryly.

"You are correct," Liara laced her fingers together on top of the table, "I overheard the crew talking about what happened on Therum. Commander Shepard spoke heavily of you, particularly your biotic skill. I must admit, I am curious."

Callum's posture stiffened as he let the fork he had been fidgeting with fall into the tray, "What?" _That can't be true._

"It is true. Even Lieutenant Alenko seemed impressed with the tales of your abilities."

Callum felt a million thoughts running through his head. For once in his life, he didn't know how to react. All the times before whenever he had heard of people talking of him, he knew to react with violence. If he was being reprimanded, he kept is head down. If he was scared, he would go headstrong but this? He had no idea how to react or what to say.

"I… I don't know what to say." His features bore an innocent look as he glanced to Liara, seeking some sort of guidance.

Her gaze lingered with his for a moment before she waivered, "I do not have much experience dealing with your kind, Callum. Perhaps you could join the others and sate their curiosity?"

"What about you, Liara? Don't you ever get lonely?" he felt the urge to punch himself after letting _that_ word loose. Liara tilted her head, a telltale sign that she was aware of his use of the word.

"Not really. Solitude is one of the aspects that most appealed to me in my position. Sometimes, I just need to get away," She paused to determine whether or not she wanted to push the matter, "Callum, are you lonely?"

Callum found himself in the situation he had hoped to avoid. He suddenly felt aware of the way his blood pumped through him and the way the light fell on him. He felt trapped, cornered like a varren's prey after a hunt. Without responding, he stood from his spot, feeling Liara's gaze burning into him. Peering at her, he spoke softly, "Sometimes."

Liara watched as he stacked his tray atop a series of others on a nearby counter. His shoulders seemed to sag as though he carried the weight of something around with him. Her eyes were laden with compassion as she watched him walk away, his eyes distant. Before he rounded the corner to reach the elevator, she called out to him, "If you ever need someone to speak to, Callum, I am here."

Callum stopped for a moment. He considered looking back and giving her a quick thanks but he decided against it. There was no need. Rupturing the asari's view of him, he took slow steps towards the elevator and called it up. In the seconds he waited, he wondered what Liara had chosen to do. In his head, she likely stood up and returned to her terminal in the sickbay. Something in the short conversation he just had with her made him want to protect her. In that instant, he was sure she wasn't working for Saren or Benezia.

On the lower deck, Kaidan and Ashley argued near her station about the efficiency of a pistol. From the looks of it, she seemed to be winning the argument. Callum arched an eyebrow at the sight; it was humorous, if anything. After a few more seconds, Kaidan lifted his hands up in resignation before turning away from her.

Ashley called out to him, "You owe me a beer next shore leave, LT!"

Kaidan shook his head with a smirk before noticing Callum's presence. The look in his eyes remained light as he paused midstride, "Callum, I heard about what went down on Therum."

_Play coy._ Callum crossed his arms, feigning confusion, "Heard what exactly?"

"A couple of things, really. Lifting that armature on your own? Impressive. Crushing it into a ball of scrap? Even more impressive."

"Who talks about that?" Callum

Kaidan bit back a laugh, "Marines."

"What?"

"Yeah. It's kind of how they show off their scars like trophies.

Kaidan's message rang through him, reminding him how painfully inexperienced he was in dealing with other soldiers. Never had he experienced what the other spoke of. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to.

"Right."

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad. Even Shepard seemed impressed. Keep it up." With that, Kaidan nodded and went on his way to the upper decks.

After standing there and rubbing the back of his neck like a confused recruit, Callum found himself striding towards where Ashley stood. At the moment, she was cleaning her rifle and checking to see that all the bits were fully functional. At the sound of his approaching steps, her eyes turned to him.

"Something up, Cal?"

Callum took up a position against the metal wall, resting his back flat against it, "What was that all about? With Kaidan?"

She took a moment to register before she smiled cockily, "Oh, that? LT thought he could find more weight behind using a pistol than an assault rifle. It didn't go as he planned."

"I'm going to guess the assault rifle is your preferred weapon, then?"

"Hell yeah. There's nothing quite like an M7 Lancer." Ashley eased the rifle down onto the table before resting one hand on its surface and the other on her hip, "Why? Are you telling me you prefer something else?"

A weak smile formed on his lips, "You could say that. Though, they're not really Alliance-grade weapons."

"Well? Out with it."

"I've always been taken with SMGs. I was a pretty good shot, but my CO took it." He scoffed, "Asshole."

"Ah, yeah, the Alliance has never been too big on those. I honestly don't know why. Some people know how to kick ass with them."

"I hear you. I think an SMG was one of the first type of guns I ever handled."

A devious grin spread on Ashley's lips, "You've been 'handling guns' for a while, Cal?"

Callum's face was completely devoid of emotion as he stared at her for a few seconds before a grin broke though, "Ashley… That was completely uncalled for."

"Hey, you walked right into it. Can't blame a girl for using an advantage."

Callum chuckled before leaning his head back against the cold metal, "In all seriousness, though, I have."

He could feel Ashley's eyes on his as he stared straight ahead. His eyes landed on Garrus attending to the Mako, but his mind chose to replace it with images from his past, particularly the time that his fingers wrapped around the hilt of a gun. His fingers had trembled in fear before, but now he hardly twitched.

"I think the first time I held a gun was when I was fifteen. I didn't come to shoot one until later."

Ashley seemed puzzled, "Why did you use a gun at that age?"

Callum pushed himself away from the wall, "That's a story for another time."

Ashley crossed her arms in frustration, "How long do you plan on playing that card, Cal? Sooner or later you'll have to tell us."

Callum fought the urge to roll his eyes, "That is one choice, yes. The other is to keep it to myself."

"What is it then? Do you not trust me?"

"No." Ashley's eyes fluttered in surprise, "Not… completely, no. Not yet."

Not feeling up to arguing with the gunnery chief, Callum turned his back to her and headed towards his corner, as he liked to call it. Before he could make it, Wrex called out to him.

"Human," The krogan's voice was low and primal with a rumble that shook him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, Wrex?" Callum turned to address Wrex. He felt an urge building up inside of him, one he hadn't felt in a while. _No… You don't need it._

"I heard about your biotics. The others call it impressive, but I've got a question for you: Have you ever faced another biotic before?"

The question was unexpected, "I… No."

"I can tell. You're reckless. Strong, but reckless. A biotic with better focus could turn that against you. Shatter your bones, tear your spine out, crush your neck, you name it."

The mental imaged brought a grimace to his face, "What's your point, Wrex?"

"You need to train. I figured now's as good a time as any."

Callum wasn't able to get a word out before he watched the krogan lift a hand and summon his own biotics against him. A great pressure squeezed at his neck as Wrex's hands glowed with the familiar corona of biotic energy. He felt his feet lift from the ground as he clawed at nothing in an attempt to free himself. The only thing that came from his mouth was a series pained grunts as he struggled feebly to breath.

Ashley must've witnessed the incident as he heard her shouts of anger echo through the deck, "Let him go, Wrex!"

A guttural noise came from Wrex, "No. He must learn."

Ashley shouted once more, removing the safety from her rifle, "I will shoot you, krogan!"

Callum's eyes clamped shut as he felt the vice grip around his neck grow stronger. He felt tears building in his eyes from the pain and from fear. Fear, the emotion he hadn't felt in so long, threatened to consume him thoughts. Fear for his life. He felt pathetic. _This… this isn't right. You need to… You need to… fight!_

His eyes opened, but he could not hear past the sound of blood rushing through his ears. The krogan's mouth moved, seemingly unfazed by his own actions while Ashley's face was livid with anger. Beside her, Garrus had taken a position. The corners of his vision began to go black, He could feel his grip slipping away and… it made him angry. Angrier than he had felt when he had challenged his CO.

Rage fueled his actions. He kicked in vain, but it motivated him further. He tried to focus his energy into his biotics, drawing it to his core in a manner he had ever done before. He grasped at that feeling, letting it build as he felt the energy expand as a sphere. He zoned in on that feeling and allowed it to envelop him until he was able to touch it with his hands. At that moment, he felt it. He felt his biotics pushing against his biotics and he let his will take over.

In a flurry of actions, his biotics exploded in a shockwave that shook the entire contents of the deck and successfully freeing himself from the krogan's grip. His body dropped with a painful thud onto the ground and his knees buckled beneath him. He managed to catch himself with his hands, keeping himself from crashing onto the floor entirely. His breaths were heavy and desperate as he fought to fill the vacuum he felt in his lungs.

His senses were slowly coming back to him, and he became aware of a three-fingered hand on his shoulder. He didn't care at that moment.

Damien was yelling, he could barely catch his words, "What the hell… doing? You are in no… This is…"

Callum's mind and body agreed on one thing: get away. He struggled to get up on his feet, but he felt the comfort of those hands supporting him, but those same hands tried to keep him from going anywhere. He wrestled himself free from the grasp.

"Callum!" Tali's filtered voice managed to reach him, "Let me…" The rest he could not focus in on.

He ignored her attempts to keep him still as he lumbered over to his corner. He reached for the duffel bag that held all his possessions (what little personal things he carried with him) and stumbled over to the elevator. He watched as Tali stood outside with her hand clasping her arm in vain; she must've felt as though she had failed somehow, but he didn't care. Not at that moment.

He didn't care of the eyes watching him as he stepped out of the elevator. He didn't care for the way he looked or the redness of his neck. He didn't care for the hapless crewmembers he shoved aside to get to the airlock. He just wanted to calm down his nerves, his thoughts, and his body. Everything was sending flares in him and he wanted it to stop. Once he made it inside the airlock, he slumped down on the floor against the frame.

It was only when he spilled out the contents of the bag that he realized how ragged his breathing was. He groaned lowly as he rubbed his eyes dry before picking up the box of cigarettes and pulling one out. His hand was shaking slightly as he reached for the rustic-looking lighter and lit the cigarette positioned between his lips.

"So much for kicking the stuff," he muttered to himself before taking a blissful drag and letting his head rest against the wall before letting a puff of smoke out.

To his surprise, the door to the airlock opened. It made him wonder who the hell wasn't able to take the hint that he wanted a moment of privacy. _It's probably Damien or Tali or… I don't know_. The last person he expected to watch step through the door was Joker.

His eyes drifted away, "I didn't mean to bother you."

Joker spoke up as he took a few steps in, "Yeah, well, when someone storms down the corridor and then locks themselves in the airlock, you kinda worry they may try to eject themselves into space. Or something like that. You never know."

A faint smile tugged at his lips as he took another drag, breathing out seconds later, "Nothing too drastic for today." His gaze shifted to look up at the green-eyed pilot, "So, is that why you came?"

"That and I wanted to see who was being crazy."

For some reason Joker's response sent a surge of disappointment through him, "Ah."

"So, what happened? You look like shit."

"Thanks for that." Sarcasm lined his voice before he patted the metallic tile next to him.

"Ugh, you want me to get on the floor, don't you?"

"Only if you want to find out why I'm here. Otherwise, I'll just sit here."

Callum half-expected Joker to just stand there before leaving, but found himself surprised when Joker took more steps in. It was a bit awkward to watch how long it took for the other man to bring himself down to the floor, but it spoke to him on another level. _He's probably felt like I do before… _After about two minutes of struggling, Joker found himself sitting beside him.

"Hope you enjoyed watching a cripple get on the floor,"

He gave Joker a questioning look before looking forward again, "Why would I enjoy that?"

"I don't know. Some people are just assholes, I guess."

Callum chuckled lightly before taking a drag and breathing the smoke out through his nostrils, "Your guess is accurate. Technically, I'm an asshole for making you get down here, but I'll make it up to you."

Joker seemed skeptical, "Yeah, yeah. Get to the good stuff already."

"Well, to sum things up, I just got attacked by Wrex who damn near could've killed me if he wanted, I'm pissed about a couple of things, and I guess I'm just… lonely." He waved his hand around after saying that last word, "Sounds weird to admit it."

Joker was quiet for a bit. For once, it seemed that he couldn't find a way to bring a sarcastic comment in, "So… your response to all this is to rot your lungs?"

"If this is rotting my lungs," he took another drag, "It feels pretty good. Besides, there are artificial lungs out there somewhere."

There was a silence before he turned to face the pilot, "You know, you're the last person I expected to lecture me on how I shouldn't smoke."

"Yeah? Why's that?"

"When you've got a nickname like Joker, the last thing I'd expect is a hardass."

"It's not as though I chose it. One of my instructors always asked me why I didn't smile so she just called me Joker one day and it stuck."

"And why didn't you smile?"

"Well, shit, when you're working your ass off, you don't have time to smile."

"Apparently, you don't have time to experience life's vices, either."

For the next thirty minutes or so, they just sat there, chatting and sharing details that they had otherwise kept secret from others. Callum even managed to get Joker to loosen up to the point to attempt smoking. The coughing session that came afterwards was enough to give him a laugh that he hadn't realized he desperately needed.

Joker spoke up, "You know, we should probably get back before everyone thinks we've shirked our duties."

Callum sighed, regretting that the moment was coming to an end, "You're probably right."

He stood up after collecting his belongings and packing them back into his duffel bag and proceeded to dust himself off before sparing a glance at Joker. The man hadn't even begun attempting to get up and he was already having problems, "What are you doing?"

Joker stopped and looked up at him, "I'm –"

Callum cut him off, "Nah. I told you I'd make it up to you, so I will." He crouched down besides Joker, triggering a series of responses from him.

"What? Hey! No, I can get up on my own!" Callum took no heed to his words and slipped one arm beneath Joker's knees and the other behind his back, "Aw shit, Callum, god damn it…"

The pilot found himself tugging his cap down to shade his blushing face of embarrassment, sparking a burst of laughter from Callum, "Yeah, laugh it up while you can, Callum, 'cause you are a dead man."

Seconds later, Callum set Joker down in his seat. A grin made it onto his lips as he witness the flustered look on the pilot's face, "Wasn't that bad, right?"

"Laugh it up. You heard me before, you are dead."

* * *

><p><span>AN: I've considered writing some chapters from Shepard's POV instead of Callum's to try and show some glimpses into his life and his developing relationship with Ashley. Yes, No, Maybe? Let me know.


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